The curse of the Titanic... DIVISION!

3rd in the Central Division
4th in the Southeast Division
4th in the Northwest Division
4th (Tied) in the Pacific Division
5th in the Southwest Division

The raps are currently .5 games back of Philly which means a win tonight would make us division leaders. For those of you who don't know if you win your division you are automatically guaranteed a top 4 seed in the playoffs and home court advantage in the first round.

IS it possible for the Raps to win the division, yes! Should we confuse winning the division with being a contender if our actual record would leave us as an 7th or 8th seed? NO!

I meant to write more but my wife is getting mad and I have to go... Will be back later to rejoin the discuss and or elaborate on my thoughts!

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

IS it possible for the Raps to win the division, yes! Should we confuse winning the division with being a contender if our actual record would leave us as an 7th or 8th seed? NO!

Answering "YES!" to that question in 2007 is what ultimately caused BC to lose his job and turn this franchise into a capped-out treadmill. Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it!

If we have chance at four home playoffs games I'm all for it! If we end having like a 5+ game(which is actually possible) lead on our devision by Christmas I don't see how Massai will blow this team up. The fan base will erupt! Also it's a business after all. Those Playoffs games that's a lot of revenue! At the end of the it always comes down to $$$

If we have chance at four home playoffs games I'm all for it! If we end having like a 5+ game(which is actually possible) lead on our devision by Christmas I don't see how Massai will blow this team up. The fan base will erupt! Also it's a business after all. Those Playoffs games that's a lot of revenue! At the end of the it always comes down to $$$

I am all for our players improving their game & stats. over the rest of year and raising their stock. I want other gms getting the busy signal when they call MU's phone. I want MU to have options to raise the ante on possible returns. And then.....SELL. That a team which wins this division may conceivably have a losing record....and some are excited with that prospect is confounding.

There is a 2 game difference between 1st and 5th. The marginal difference is so small that at this point in time it doesn't mean alot.

Its definetely probable that this team even with a 'poor' record could win the division, but its unlikey (all the more reason to tank now(ish) and not later!?!?). In a week the standing could be much different. In a month I'd be willing to bet its significantly different.

Thanks for getting the thread going, many of you have hit on the points I would have made...

Chr1s1anL wrote:

If we have chance at four home playoffs games I'm all for it! If we end having like a 5+ game(which is actually possible) lead on our devision by Christmas I don't see how Massai will blow this team up. The fan base will erupt! Also it's a business after all. Those Playoffs games that's a lot of revenue! At the end of the it always comes down to $$$

Bold: Yes it is possible, and IF we had a 5+ game lead on the team in 2nd place Masai probably won't blow it up. BUT the odds of even winning the division are pretty much even for all teams at the moment which means we have roughly a 20% chance of being in first, let alone have a super cushy 5 game lead. The odds of the raps having that lead? It's possible, in the sense that it is possible for my wife to tell me that she wouldn't mind if we had an open relationship and I could start sleeping with other women without making her upset. Both are extremely unlikely. If you think that it is likely that the raps will have a 5+ game lead on the division it probably means they are a legit 4-6 seed, which kinda sounds like crazy talk based on what's happened so far.

Craiger wrote:

There is a 2 game difference between 1st and 5th. The marginal difference is so small that at this point in time it doesn't mean alot.

Its definetely probable that this team even with a 'poor' record could win the division, but its unlikey (all the more reason to tank now(ish) and not later!?!?). In a week the standing could be much different. In a month I'd be willing to bet its significantly different.

This is the problem, the fact that the raps are now the division leaders, doesn't mean that we are a lock to win the division OR make the playoffs. Wanting to keep this team together because "it's possible" to win the division, is the same kind of thinking that has lead us a stray before, how many times have we as fans used "if only" or "it's possible" as a justification to stay the course (mediocrity) hoping for better outcomes? Would I love to hang another division champs banner in the rafters? Absolutely!!! but not if it's going to undermine our chances of putting up a conference champs banner.

Axel wrote:

Sadly, as early as it is in the season, this would mark the latest in the season we've held the divisional lead since we won it in '07.

This is why I'm worried people will miss interpret our division lead, as evidence that we are actually a team capable of doing damage in the playoffs. Which we are NOT.

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

We are the 4th seed with the 6th best winning percentage in the East. We are TIED with the LAKERS for the 17th best winning percentage in the league. TIED... LAKERS... 17th... If you just went with the best 16 teams in the league for the playoffs the raps wouldn't even qualify. But because of the system if playoffs started today they would have home court advantage in round 1.

Don't let this fool you!!!

The raps have less than a month to prove to Masai that they are the real deal, because as of right now, even as the division leaders they are certainly NOT the real deal. And 1 good game doesn't prove much, if anything.

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

Although we are the Leaders of Air, not the Leaders of a Division,
We do still get to be in 4th seed and have home court advantage if the playoffs started today!

Its solid news, as it means if we maintain this till the playoffs, we arent immediate first-round fodder to Miami or Chicago!
And since New York is looking crappier than ever, only Brooklyn is really going to challenge us for that spot!!

Plus, New York and Brookly should pickup the pace as the season progresses.

There really isn't any proof to this.

New York is a mess with Melo having to much on his shoulders to go all season. The cast of characters around him are all playing as individuals. There record could shape up to what the raptors started last season and that's one hell of a climb. Your looking at a possible 4-12 if you look at their next few games.

Brooklyn are not playing well at all. How do you lay on this on Jason Kidd? maybe some, but how is an inexperianced coach gonna turn this around.

Compared to what we have, we have a bunch of talent who finally can play some defense who some have been together for at least a 2-3 years.

Toronto clearly looks to be the better team. Who says we can't also pick it up as the season goes. Our schedule is also supposed to get easier.

I understand the hunger for going into the draft this year but are we gonna out worse Utah, Sac, Bucks, Philly, Suns, etc when they are in in the same position to tank better than us. If you chase this rabbit, you can be left with no team to build around at 7-13 pick. We are just not built for that strategy this year.

Toronto clearly looks to be the better team. Who says we can't also pick it up as the season goes. Our schedule is also supposed to get easier.

I was stating an opinion. The only "proof" I have of the Knicks and Nets playing well, is last year. Do you honestly think they'll be the 2 worst teams in the Atlantic by season's end? With management teams who are desperately in win-now mode?

As for the Raptors picking it up, I'll believe it when I see it. I've been waiting for 6 years.

New York is a mess with Melo having to much on his shoulders to go all season. The cast of characters around him are all playing as individuals. There record could shape up to what the raptors started last season and that's one hell of a climb. Your looking at a possible 4-12 if you look at their next few games.

Brooklyn are not playing well at all. How do you lay on this on Jason Kidd? maybe some, but how is an inexperianced coach gonna turn this around.

Compared to what we have, we have a bunch of talent who finally can play some defense who some have been together for at least a 2-3 years.

Toronto clearly looks to be the better team. Who says we can't also pick it up as the season goes. Our schedule is also supposed to get easier.

If the season does play out this way (and it could), this team would be eerily similar to Toronto's only other division winning team. The division was extremely weak that year, but other teams were making moves for long term growth. The Raps got spanked in the first round and promptly fell well behind the pace in the East in subsequent seasons. Colangelo spent the rest of his tenure trying to patch up that roster to re-gain some success. It was extremely short-sighted to ignore the context of that division title, and it would be even more ridiculous to do it again.